


but i'm steady thinking

by Teddydora



Series: caledonia [3]
Category: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard - Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Bonding, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:53:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26814679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Teddydora/pseuds/Teddydora
Summary: She put down her Oreo, uneaten. “There were three of us. Other than Thalia, I mean. Me, Thalia, Luke… and my cousin, Magnus. He and I ran away together, like you said, Percy, a seven-year-old and a five-year-old half-bloods wouldn’t have made it very far alone. Athena guided us towards help.Annabeth tells Percy about her cousin.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase & Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase & Percy Jackson & Grover Underwood, Annabeth Chase (Percy Jackson) & Magnus Chase
Series: caledonia [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1953517
Comments: 2
Kudos: 47





	but i'm steady thinking

Annabeth pulled apart an oreo and handed Percy half, “In the Iris Message... did Luke really say nothing. 

Percy munched his cookie and thought about how to answer. The conversation via rainbow had bothered him all evening. “Luke said you and he go way back. He also said that Grover wouldn’t fail this time. Nobody would turn into a pine tree.”

In the dim bronze light of the sword blade, it was hard to read their expressions.

Grover let out a mournful bray. “I should’ve told you the truth from the beginning.” His voice trembled. “I thought if you knew what a failure I was, you wouldn’t want me along.”

“You were the satyr who tried to rescue Thalia, the daughter of Zeus.”

He nodded glumly.

“And the other two half-bloods Thalia befriended, the ones who got safely to camp…” He looked at Annabeth, “That was you and Luke, wasn’t it?”

She put down her Oreo, uneaten. “There were three of us. Other than Thalia, I mean. Me, Thalia, Luke… and my cousin, Magnus. He and I ran away together, like you said, Percy, a seven-year-old and a five-year-old half-bloods wouldn’t have made it very far alone. Athena guided us towards help. Thalia was twelve. Luke was fourteen. They’d both run away from home, like us. They were happy to take us with them. They were… amazing monster fighters, even without training. We travelled north from Virginia without any real plans, fending off monsters for about a month before Grover found us.”

“I was supposed to escort Thalia to camp,” he said, sniffling, “Only Thalia. I had strict orders from Chiron: don’t do anything that would slow down the rescue. We knew Hades was after her, see, but I couldn’t just leave Luke, Magnus and Annabeth by themselves. I thought… I thought I could lead all four of them to safety. It was my fault the Kindly Ones caught up with us. I froze. I got scared on the way back to camp and took some wrong turns. If I’d just been a little quicker…”

“Stop it,” Annabeth said, “No one blames you. Thalia and Magnus didn’t blame you either.”

“They sacrificed themselves to save us,” he said miserably, “Their deaths were my fault. The Council of cloven Elders said so.”

“Because you wouldn’t leave three other half-bloods behind?” Percy said, “That’s not fair.”

“Percy’s right,” Annabeth said. “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you, Grover. Neither would Luke. We don’t care what the council says.”

Grover kept sniffling in the dark, “It’s just my luck. I’m the lamest satyr ever and I find the two most powerful half-bloods of the century, Thalia and Percy.”

“You’re not lame,” Annabeth insisted. “You’ve got more courage than any other satyr I’ve ever met. Name one other that would dare go to the Underworld. I bet Percy is really glad you’re here right now.” She kicked Percy in the shin. 

“Yeah,” Percy said, which he would’ve done even without the kick. It’s not luck that you found Thalia and me, Grover. You’ve got the biggest heart of any satyr ever. You’re a natural search. That’s why you’ll be the one who finds Pan.”

Percy heard a deep, satisfied sigh. He waited for Grover to say something, but his breathing only got heavier. When the sound turned to snoring, he realised that Grover had fallen asleep. 

“How does he do that?” Percy marvelled.

“I don’t know,” Annabeth said, “But that was a really nice thing you told him.”

“I meant it.” 

They rode in silence for a few miles until Percy’s curiosity got the better of him. “That ring, on your camp necklace, that’s your dad’s, right?” Annabeth glared at him for a minute until her temper cooled and she eventually nodded. 

“So what’s the-uh… the tablet thingy?” It was a small stone cut carefully with some symbol, like a twisted F. 

ᚠ

Annabeth twisted it, nervously. “It was going to be my cousin’s. You remember when you asked me about my dad, I told you I would let him rot?” Percy nodded. “I ran away when I was seven but about two years ago, my dad wrote to me. He promised he’d changed, that he’s like me to come home. He sent me this ring and I agreed. It didn’t work out. I didn’t make it to Winter Break before bolting. The only saving grace was that I could finally get some closure with my aunt, my cousin’s mother.” 

Annabeth leaned back, trying to stretch out her arms in her tiny corner of the truck.

“Magnus was my younger cousin, by over a year and he was so trusting and I still feel like it's at least partly my fault he dies. Sure I didn’t send furies after him or suspend him as a tree but I told him to come with me, made it sound like a good idea. His mom sent him to us for a holiday and she’ll never see her son again and that’s my fault.” 

She sounded like she was holding back tears. “Aunt Natalie never blamed me though, not once. She took me on a hike one day, just after I came home, I snapped, told her everything and she took it in her stride. Before she left, she gave me this,” she said, her thumb rubbing the symbol, “She said it might bring me luck. I can only hope that it works.”

“Me too,” said Percy, “Annabeth, I am so sorry for prying and about your cousin.”

“It’s okay,” she muttered, the tears gone from her voice, “I’m okay. Or at least I will be.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed! Before anyone asks, the Fehu runestone is just a runestone, not actually Jack. Leave kudos/comments if you liked it
> 
> My tumblr is @mallorykeenwasmylesbianawakening if you want to check it out


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